


Landing Right Where We Are

by cosmic_llin



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/F, Post-Canon, Stranded
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-01
Updated: 2017-05-01
Packaged: 2018-10-26 09:38:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10784232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmic_llin/pseuds/cosmic_llin
Summary: Beverly Crusher and Kathryn Janeway find themselves stranded with a team of cadets, and it's mostly a super-chill gentle time.





	Landing Right Where We Are

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Oparu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oparu/gifts).



_Month One_

‘What is it they say?’ said a voice behind Beverly. ‘You know you’re getting older when Starfleet captains start looking younger?’

Beverly smiled. ‘The senior staff are… frighteningly youthful, aren’t they?’

Kathryn Janeway came to stand beside her, in this quiet corner of the crew lounge, and for a moment they watched the room. The captain of the ship, mingling with the guests at this welcome reception ahead of the conference they were all on the way to take part in, looked like a fresh-faced cadet to Beverly’s eyes.

Part of that was down to the lingering aftereffects of the Dominion War – a lot of experienced officers had lost their lives, and plenty in the generations behind them had risen through the ranks more quickly than they would have done otherwise. But Beverly was fairly sure at least part of it was just her own shifting perceptions. After all, she’d been CMO on the flagship and head of Starfleet Medical when she was still in her thirties. Captain Irick couldn’t be much younger than she had been back then.

‘How have you been, Doctor Crusher?’ Admiral Janeway asked. ‘Last time we talked you were about to publish a new paper?’

‘That’s right, I was, wasn’t I?’ said Beverly.

They’d met a handful of times before, and Beverly had always found herself drawn to Admiral Janeway. Truth be told, she’d been pleased to find that she was coming on this journey. It would be nice to have the chance to get to know her better.

They talked about Beverly’s paper, and Admiral Janeway’s stint teaching at the Academy, and they ignored the awestruck stares from the cohort of cadets assigned to the ship (and some of the officers too). Since the war, most larger vessels had at least a few cadets aboard, taking on some of the simpler duties to free up the officers’ time, learning skills. These days most cadets spent at least half their training on a vessel instead of at the Academy.

‘Is this level of attention normal?’ Beverly asked.

Admiral Janeway made a face somewhere between a smile and a grimace. ‘Pretty much. I’m never sure if they’re excited or sort of… horrified.’

‘Ah, Admiral, Commander,’ said Captain Irick, making his way around to them. ‘I trust you’re enjoying your stay so far?’

They exchanged the usual pleasantries.

‘Admiral Janeway,’ Captain Irick said. ‘Naturally your time is precious, but we were wondering if you might be interested in taking some of our cadets on a small mission? Nothing too taxing, just a shuttle exploration of a nearby anomaly. I’m sure they’d very much appreciate the chance to benefit from your expertise.’

Admiral Janeway smiled. ‘Why not? Sounds fun. Doctor Crusher, would you like to come along?’

‘We were hoping Doctor Crusher would inspect our Sickbay…’ said Captain Irick.

Beverly smiled. ‘No reason we can’t fit both in.’

* * *

Kathryn still felt a glow of pride every time she saw one of these Delta Flyer Class shuttles. Something her crew had built, alone in the Delta Quadrant, was benefitting all of Starfleet now. She’d watched Tom, B’Elanna and Harry make a presentation about the design at Starfleet Headquarters, early in the process that led to the ship’s rollout throughout the fleet, and she’d thought about how young and scared they had all been when she met them, and how confidently they presented their work now, and she’d felt as though it had all been worth something.

She didn’t always feel that way, but seeing one of these shuttles always brought the feeling back, at least for a little while.

One of the advantages of the Delta Flyer Class ships was, of course, the larger capacity. It seemed as though every cadet in the vicinity was crammed in here. Kathryn picked one who looked especially nervous and got her to pilot them out of the shuttlebay. She assigned a couple more to the other main stations and had the rest observe.

Doctor Crusher leaned against a bulkhead, keeping out of the way. Kathryn took charge, the energy that she always felt in command rushing through her. The cadets were bright and eager, determined to follow her instructions immediately and to the letter. Every “aye, captain!” was crisp and clear. The nervous pilot relaxed into it a little. All signs pointed to a textbook mission, something the cadets could write excitedly home about.

There was barely time to register that what they’d thought was a small, fairly standard anomaly was actually a large, dangerous anomaly in disguise before the flyer was picked up and thrown like a ragdoll. Kathryn ran to take the controls but there was nothing she could do that Cadet Yara hadn’t already. The instruments were struggling, the lights were flickering, and the next thing she knew, they were on a collision course for a planet that hadn’t been there five seconds ago.

* * *

Beverly woke to smoke thick in the air, alarms blaring, low emergency lighting. Her head throbbed. Someone had put her in the recovery position. She rolled to sitting, glanced around the small ship, surveyed the situation.

‘We landed all right, just about,’ said Admiral Janeway. ‘No major injuries that I could see, but when you’re feeling better I’d appreciate if you could take a second look over everybody, just in case. How are you feeling?’

Beverly squinted at her. ‘A little groggy, some pain. Was I out long?’

Kathryn shook her head. ‘Not too long. I’ve already administered everything the emergency tricorder suggested. You should feel better soon.’

‘What happened?’

‘That little anomaly turned out to be a big wormhole.’

‘How big is big?’

‘Initial information suggests that we’re a journey of months away from where we started – if we had half a chance of repairing the flyer, which we don’t. But we should still have the ability to send a distress call. Do you feel up to standing? We were about to go outside and take stock.’

‘Give me a hand?’ Beverly asked.

Admiral Janeway helped her to her feet, and she leaned on her as they left the flyer. They’d managed to land in a grassy clearing near some woods. Beverly’s experienced eyes took in the landscape, the possible survival challenges, the places where they might find food or water.

One of the cadets – Cadet T’Kiri, Beverly thought her name was – had just finished arranging some of the light, porous rocks that were scattered around into a circle as chairs, so that it almost felt like a real briefing even in the dying light, with the ship still faintly smoking.

‘I’ll get right to the point – it looks as though the flyer isn’t salvageable,’ said Admiral Janeway, sitting on the tallest of the rocks. ‘Or at least, it isn’t going anywhere. The damage to the propulsion system is too extensive to repair. There’s some power remaining. We should use most of it to replicate items we’ll need to survive the next few months.’

‘I’ll coordinate that,’ Beverly said.

‘Cadet Ngata, report?’ Admiral Janeway continued.

Cadet Ngata looked about twelve and terrified. He took a deep breath. ‘Um… according to our calculations and the most recent information in the flyer’s database, it should take a minimum of five months for the nearest Starfleet vessel to reach us, assuming we can even send out a distress call.’

‘I need to investigate further, but I’m confident we can send out a distress call,’ said Admiral Janeway. ‘Help is coming. We just need to wait for it to arrive. In a few months we’ll all be home with our families. We can do this.’

Beverly didn’t think Admiral Janeway sounded all that certain, but the cadets, wide-eyed, seemed convinced.

Between the two of them, she and Admiral Janeway assigned them some initial duties – securing the area, making some basic safety checks – and then told them all to turn in. Beverly made her own inspection of the ship’s energy reserves while the cadets found spots on the floor and folded their uniform jackets into pillows.

‘Are the kids asleep?’ Admiral Janeway asked, when Beverly slipped outside the ship to join her.

She was sitting on a rock, looking up at the stars. Beverly sat too.

‘Five months,’ said Beverly wearily. ‘Minimum.’

Admiral Janeway barked a laugh.

‘Oh God,’ said Beverly. ‘I’m sorry. That was a stupid thing to say.’

Admiral Janeway shook her head. ‘It’s all right. It’s not the same, anyway. When we were stranded in the Delta Quadrant I had a state-of-the-art ship, a crew that had at least some experience. And what do we have now? Enough juice to replicate sufficient rations, just maybe, if we’re careful. A dozen near-children who thought they were going on a fun field trip.’

‘They’ll be all right,’ said Beverly.

‘I hope so.’

‘And so will we.’

Another laugh.

‘Kathryn…’ said Beverly carefully. ‘I know you outrank me but… don’t forget there’s two of us? We’re in this together, all right?’

She nodded. ‘All right.’

* * *

The next morning it was raining heavily. Kathryn awoke to the sound of it on the hull of the flyer. She was curled up in one of the bunks in the aft section. The bunk opposite, Beverly’s, was empty. She could hear her voice outside, giving orders.

She rolled out of bed, stretched, combed her fingers through her hair, and went to see what was happening.

‘Good morning!’ Beverly greeted her. ‘I replicated some containers so that we could take advantage of the weather to collect rainwater. The terrain suggests there’s a water source nearby, but it never hurts to make sure.’

Kathryn peered out through the window. ‘Are they… having a water fight?’

Beverly smiled. ‘I only asked them to set up the containers outside. But they seem to be enjoying themselves, and it’s warm enough that I’m not worried.’

Kathryn watched the cadets for a moment. Cadet Etulu squealed as Cadet Yara artfully squirted water at him using a weapon improvised from a hollow stick. Cadet T’Kiri, whom one might have assumed would be above this sort of thing, had hidden herself halfway up a tree and was about to drop a large leaf full of water on Cadet Jenkins.

‘Vulcans,’ said Beverly, following Kathryn’s gaze. ‘Always so competitive.’

Kathryn thought of Tuvok and smiled.

‘Here,’ said Beverly. ‘I got you breakfast. I thought we could go over this list of things to replicate.’

She handed Kathryn a ration bar – apple pie flavour – and sat beside her. Kathryn ate with one hand and paged down the list with the other.

‘We’ll need more rations than this,’ she said.

Beverly shook her head. ‘I won’t be totally certain until I can do a proper survey, but I’ve done some initial scans and I think we can survive mostly on native vegetation, and save rations for emergencies.’

‘Do you think?’

‘Survival skills are… a speciality of mine.’

Kathryn digested that for a moment. Her own knowledge was more or less the minimum required of a command officer – she’d never wanted to waste time getting cold and dirty when she could be in a nice, temperature-regulated lab or engine room. Which meant that, rank aside, she was no longer in charge here.

‘All right,’ she said. ‘In that case I defer to your better judgement.’

She looked down the rest of the list – fire-starting tools, solar panel and solar-powered flashlights, knives, medical supplies, clothing, tarps and blankets, water filter, cooking pots… It looked comprehensive, and it looked as though they should be able to replicate it all and keep a small amount of the energy remaining to power the distress signal and some basic computer systems.

‘We’ll get started on figuring out what’s edible nearby, once the rain stops,’ said Beverly.

They both looked up sharply at a scream from outside, but it was only Cadet Ngata slipping on a patch of mud. He fell flat on his back, but he was up again moments later, grinning.

* * *

When the sky was clear again, Beverly led a foraging party made up of half the cadets, while the other half stayed behind to help Kathryn with the necessary repairs to the communications system. They hoped to be able to send a distress call before nightfall.

‘Take careful note of everything,’ Beverly reminded them, as they ventured into the edges of the wood in pairs, their tricorders and phasers out in front of them. The flyer’s scanners hadn’t detected anything other than small wildlife in the vicinity, but it never hurt to take extra precautions. ‘If you pick something, mark the location on your map. When we have some samples we’ll take them back to camp and run some tests, see what’s safe to eat.’

She felt like an elementary school teacher – the cadets kept rushing back to her with their finds spilling out of their open palms, faces eager and hopeful, like they were making a nature table instead of searching for vital supplies so that they could stay alive.

It was better this way, much better that they treat this as an adventure. And if they were only here for a few months, they might never have to find out the hard way that it wasn’t.

When they got back, containers full of samples to test more thoroughly, not only was the distress call set up, so were a handful of tents, and the cadets were just finishing up cleaning the battered flyer.

‘Thought we might as well get going on making this place more inhabitable,’ said Kathryn as they approached, ‘since we’re going to be here a while. Unless you think we should move our camp somewhere else?’

Beverly shook her head. ‘No, this looks good – we have access to water sources, we’re reasonably protected from the elements by the terrain. Here’s as good a place as any.’

‘How was the expedition?’

Beverly smiled. ‘Preliminary tests look good. If this stuff passes the second round of testing, we could be cooking our own dinner.’

* * *

As they settled into a daily routine of foraging, cultivating the small garden Beverly had started, and taking care of the camp, the cadets decided amongst themselves that Beverly and Kathryn should share the aft bunkroom alone, while they all slept in the tents. Kathryn hadn’t been sure that was entirely fair, but Beverly had pointed out that letting only some of the cadets sleep indoors was bound to breed resentment.

‘And besides,’ she’d said. ‘We need it more than they do.’

Kathryn couldn’t deny that it was nice to have a real bed to sleep in. And Beverly was a good roommate. She didn’t leave her things all over the place, but she also didn’t mind that Kathryn sometimes did. Some nights they talked until late, and spent the next morning yawning. Sometimes they both sat quietly for hours with PADDs full of books. With nothing much to do except survive and wait for rescue, they were both catching up on their reading.

And when Kathryn suddenly woke in the night, her heart racing, as sometimes happened, it was good to hear Beverly’s steady breaths and know that she was only an arm’s length away.

 

_Month Two_

The message had come the night before. A ship was on the way to rescue them. It would still be another four months before they arrived, and it would take them as long again to get back to central Federation space, but they were coming.

Kathryn was sitting in the area they’d started calling the courtyard – the space surrounded by the tents, and the flyer. She had settled herself in one of the simple chairs the cadets had built from a fallen tree, using instructions they’d found in the flyer’s database. She was watching the quiet morning activities of their little settlement, letting herself think for a moment about how everything was under control, and there was nothing she really needed to be doing.

Beverly sat down beside her, eating one of the native fruits they’d lazily taken to calling “purple apples”.

‘Not going out with the foraging team this morning?’ Kathryn asked.

Beverly shook her head. ‘I’m going to work in the garden instead. It’s time they built their confidence without my supervision. I’ve left Cadet Yara in charge, I think she has command potential and I’d like to see her develop her leadership skills.’

‘Good choice.’

‘What are you going to teach today?’

They’d both started spending a couple of hours each afternoon teaching whichever cadets were interested. Kathryn mostly taught quantum mechanics and engineering, but now and then she took a day and veered into literature or comparative linguistics instead. Beverly taught first aid, biological sciences and creative writing.

‘They’ve worked so hard all week,’ said Kathryn. ‘I thought I’d tell them some of my temporal paradox stories. People always seem to enjoy them.’

‘Ugh, time travel,’ said Beverly. ‘Never brings anything but misery and paperwork, in my experience.’

‘Amen,’ said Kathryn. ‘That’s why I want our poor cadets to be prepared.’

They fell into an easy silence for a few moments.

‘Sort of funny, to have a definite timescale,’ said Beverly. ‘Until we got the message I couldn’t quite let myself believe they were coming.’

Back on Arvada III, she hadn’t expected that they would ever be helped. She still remembered the shock, the disbelief she’d felt when the first aid ship had arrived. This was so different in every imaginable way, but the knowledge that someone was coming for them felt like being able to breathe again.

‘Four more months,’ said Kathryn. ‘I think we can handle that.’

Beverly nodded. ‘I think we can.’

 

_Month Three_

They were celebrating Cadet Neuk’s birthday with a campfire and a decent approximation of the traditional toasted snacks of his homeworld. They’d eaten, laughed, danced, told stories. Now Cadet Elif was singing an old Bajoran folk song, in a sweet, melodious voice.

The fire was warm and smelled good, the stars looked beautiful. Kathryn was watching Beverly in the flickering light – her hair loose around her shoulders, her fingers tapping in time to the music. Beverly sensed her watching, turned her head, smiled. Kathryn smiled back.

Everything seemed so simple here.

She got up and moved around the fire to sit down beside Beverly.

‘I haven’t felt this free since before Voyager,’ she said, looking into the flickering flames. ‘When we made it back, I thought it would be like a weight lifting from my shoulders – and it was, a little. But so much had changed, there was so much to catch up on, so many things that weren’t the way I remembered or wanted. And even when I tried to get away from it, Voyager followed me everywhere. I guess it always will, but here I feel like I can just… be myself.’

‘I’m glad,’ said Beverly.

They were sitting so close that Kathryn could feel the warmth of Beverly’s skin. She didn’t have to look up to sense that Beverly was looking at her, with that small smile, those eyes like the sea. She knew with a calm certainty what was going to happen, but she let herself be slow, savouring the anticipation. They sat for a few more minutes, leaning nearer and nearer until her head was almost on Beverly’s shoulder.

The cadets were still singing – Cadet T’Kiri was teaching them all a Vulcan song. Kathryn and Beverly excused themselves, claiming age and lack of stamina, and headed for the flyer.

Inside their shared room, Beverly’s fingers linked with hers, and they turned towards each other. Kathryn’s eyes closed as their mouths met, and she let herself sink into the kiss, feeling only this, the soft pressure of Beverly’s lips, their bodies moving closer, everything soft and quiet.

Beverly’s hair smelled like woodsmoke. The bunk beneath them creaked gently as they wrapped themselves in each other. Kathryn thought about nothing except what she was doing and feeling in this moment, letting her hands and mouth and hips decide without her mind’s input. And soon enough, quiet wasn’t the word for it.

 

_Month Four_

For a while they’d tried to keep it a secret from the cadets, but it was a small camp and after a while it had become obvious that they weren’t nearly as sneaky as they thought they were. After Cadet Yara went on a foraging mission with Beverly and told her ‘you know, doctor, you and the admiral aren’t nearly as sneaky as you think you are’.

‘I wasn’t totally sure if they’d just noticed the way we are around each other, or if they can hear us having sex,’ said Beverly. ‘I was afraid to ask.’

Once that would have filled Kathryn with embarrassment, even shame. Now it just made her laugh.

‘But I _am_ technically your superior officer, what sort of example is it to set?’ she asked one evening, as they sheltered from the rain in the cockpit of the flyer.

‘Yes, but I could be an admiral by now if I wanted to,’ said Beverly.

‘I’m serious. I spent the whole seven years on Voyager holding myself apart, never pursuing the opportunities in front of me, because I was so afraid of the problems that a romantic relationship with one of my crew would cause. And now I just… can’t bring myself to give a damn about the chain of command anymore, even though I feel like I should.’

‘This is different,’ said Beverly patiently. ‘Your rank is higher, but I’m not in your care. If anything you’re in mine. If we hadn’t both been on that flyer, we wouldn’t have ever been on the same crew. And I’m older than you and I know better.’

Kathryn laughed.

‘And what happens after we get back?’ she asked.

Beverly smiled. ‘Cards on the table – I like what’s happening between us, and I want it to continue. But if that doesn’t work for you, I’ll still be glad to be your friend.’

Kathryn felt warm right through. ‘I can’t promise it’ll be the same as this,’ she said. ‘I travel a lot, I like my own space… but I’d like it to continue too. In whatever form ends up working for us once we’re back.’

‘Good enough for me,’ said Beverly.

Her hand crept into Kathryn’s lap, and Kathryn took hold of it. On Voyager she’d become so used to almost never being touched, and even after several years back in the Alpha Quadrant, she hadn’t quite grown used to the idea of such easy, simple physical affection, without worrying about what was appropriate. Beverly made it so easy for her – she touched her all the time, hands on shoulders, pats on the back, hips touching as they sat side by side, fingers wrapping around hers, even before they’d fallen into bed together. Now that the cadets knew about them, they sometimes walked around the camp hand in hand. It was probably sickening. She didn’t care.

She shuffled closer.

 

_Month Five_

‘I feel as though we should be leaving them with a babysitter,’ Beverly said, looking anxiously back at the camp.

‘They’ll be fine,’ said Kathryn. ‘We’ve all got communicators, we’re prepared, they’re prepared, and it’s only for a couple of days. What could…’

‘If you say “what could possibly go wrong” I’m heading straight back.’

‘… be better than a science mission, just the two of us?’ Kathryn smoothly amended.

Beverly made a suspicious face, but they kept walking away.

Their scans from the flyer had revealed some interesting flora half a day’s hike away, a little further than any of them had yet ventured. Beverly was itching to find out more about the local plant life, and Kathryn had jumped at the chance to get away and do something different.

They talked as they walked, about the cadets and about their plans for when they got back home, and about the play Beverly was writing and Kathryn’s sister’s upcoming art show. They’d recently been relayed some messages from their friends and families, and it had left the whole camp feeling reinvigorated and hopeful. Beverly had gotten a chatty and perceptive message from Deanna, a long, rambling update from Jean-Luc and a folder full of the latest medical journals from Alyssa. It would still be months before she’d see any of them again, even after they were rescued, but it was comforting to know that they would be waiting for her.

In the middle of the afternoon they reached their destination – a delta where the large river that flowed through this whole area turned into several smaller streams.

‘Should we set up the camp first?’ Kathryn asked.

Beverly nodded. ‘Sounds good. Just give me five minutes to take a few quick readings first?’

‘Perfect,’ said Kathryn. ‘Time to catch my breath before we put up the tent.’

She threw her pack on the ground and flung herself down beside it. Beverly turned and picked her way across two of the small streams to crouch down beside an interesting-looking shrub, flipping open her tricorder.

When she looked up again the sun was beginning to set, and Kathryn was looking at her with the ghost of a grin on her face.

‘That was the longest five minutes I’ve ever seen,’ she teased.

Somehow, while Beverly had been absorbed in her work, Kathryn had pitched the tent, unpacked, and started dinner. How long had it been?

‘I’m so sorry!’ she said. ‘I honestly only meant to take a few minutes to get some initial data…’

‘Don’t worry about it,’ said Kathryn. ‘It was sort of fascinating to watch. I called your name twice.’

‘You did?’

‘You were obviously very intent.’

Beverly jumped the streams between them one by one and sat down outside the tent beside Kathryn.

‘Dinner’s almost ready,’ Kathryn said.

Beverly sniffed. ‘I’d say it’s more than ready,’ she said. ‘Is that burning?’

Kathryn swore vehemently, and Beverly took it upon herself to investigate. Their dinner was a little singed around the edges, but still definitely edible. They settled down to eat.

‘It’s so quiet here,’ Kathryn said later, as they lay on a blanket and looked up at the stars. ‘Even quieter than back at camp.’

‘Mmm,’ agreed Beverly. ‘Kathryn… I’m glad you’re here.’

Kathryn laughed. ‘I hope so, after I hiked all this way with you.’

‘No, I mean… I’m glad you’re here on this planet with me. It’s helped, not being alone. Knowing that I have backup.’

‘Beverly, you’re the one who’s handled everything so incredibly, I’ve barely…’

‘I know. And I probably could have done it by myself if I’d had to. But I’m so glad I didn’t.’

‘Me too,’ said Kathryn. She turned on her side to look at Beverly, stroked her hair back from her face, leaned down and kissed her.

‘No cadets for miles around,’ said Beverly, when they came up for air. ‘Nobody to hear a thing.’

‘God, what a relief.’

* * *

Beverly rose early the next morning and worked until the last possible moment. Kathryn rose late, took a few scans, read her book, and then they hiked back to camp. Beverly spent most of the journey talking about her discoveries, and Kathryn let her, asking dozens of questions. Plant biology wasn’t her area, but Beverly’s excitement was infectious, and even after months together it was novel to be with someone whose enthusiasm for science matched her own.

The camp was quiet as they approached. Almost eerily quiet. Normally at this time the courtyard would be buzzing with activity, with music playing, people working and chatting. Now, nothing.

Kathryn’s heart dropped. She drew her phaser.

Beverly caught her eye, nodded. The two of them approached cautiously.

Cadet Etulu was draped across one of the outdoor chairs, his eyes closed. Kathryn stopped breathing for a moment. God, what had they done? They should never have left them alone…

Cadet Etulu let out a long, rumbling snore.

All of Kathryn’s blood rushed back into motion at once.

Beverly was poking her head through the door of the flyer, tricorder outstretched. She turned back to Kathryn and grinned.

‘Nothing wrong with them that sleep won’t cure,’ she said. ‘Based on the evidence I’d say they had a party that got a little out of hand…’

‘Dear god, are they trying to kill us?’ Kathryn asked. She prodded Cadet Etulu with her toe. He didn’t move. ‘I’m tempted to wake them all up and give them a proper admiralty dressing down…’

‘We were all young once,’ said Beverly. ‘And they’ve been model cadets until now. Let’s let them have this one?’

Kathryn frowned, but it was difficult not to want to give Beverly her way.

‘All right,’ she said. ‘They can have this one. But the next time they’re in trouble.’

‘Yes, Admiral,’ Beverly teased.

 

_Month Six_

‘We’ve received a message from the USS Sharman,’ said Kathryn, at the evening briefing. ‘They’re almost here. They should arrive within the next two days, all being well. We should begin to pack up the camp, prepare everything for our departure, and go over the environmental impact checklist to ensure that we leave this area as close as possible to how we found it. Cadet T’Kiri, would you please organise duty assignments for the morning?’

‘Certainly, admiral.’

‘And… before the Sharman picks us up, and we begin our journey home to go back to our lives, I just want to say that it’s been an honour serving with you all, and you’re all going to be truly outstanding officers.’

Beverly thought some of the cadets might actually burst with pride.

‘You’re going to miss this, aren’t you?’ she asked, after the briefing was over and the cadets had scattered to their various tasks.

‘I think I am,’ said Kathryn. ‘But it’s time to go back. Can’t hide forever.’

Beverly linked her fingers with Kathryn’s. ‘You can’t. But you won’t be on your own.’

They didn’t normally kiss while the cadets were around, but what difference did it make now?

* * *

It was strange to see the camp like this – tents all packed away, empty of the furniture and tools of their day-to-day lives, nothing but the different-coloured patches of grass to show the shape of where the courtyard had been. The flyer was alone, like it had been when they had arrived. Soon a specialist team would come down to retrieve it, replace the damaged systems. In a few months the room that Kathryn had come to think of as hers and Beverly’s would just be the aft compartment of a standard flyer again.

That was all right. When you were Starfleet you got used to not thinking of spaces as your permanent home. But this had been a very nice temporary one, and she was going to miss it.

‘Ready to beam up?’ Beverly asked.

Kathryn nodded. ‘I guess so.’

Beverly came to stand behind her, wrapped her arms around her waist. ‘It’s not so bad,’ she said. ‘It’ll be another few months before we’re in Federation territory again. There’s still time for us to catch up on our reading.’

Kathryn sighed, thinking of being on a Starfleet ship again – the awed stares, the questions, the assumptions, the way she never felt like she could quite be just herself. But she thought about Beverly’s arms around her, Beverly’s chin resting on her shoulder, Beverly’s voice in her ear.

Maybe this time it would be better.

 


End file.
